Yahoo Sports Wrestling Match of the Year 2024: Nothing could equal Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay
The instant-classic between the American Dragon and Aerial Assassin dominated Uncrowned's voting
One of the wonderful things about pro wrestling — whether watching it as a fan or covering it like we do here at Uncrowned — is the subjectivity of the product. Think about the discussions — OK, let’s be real, arguments — that take place on a near-daily basis online or among friends. There’s very rarely a runaway winner or consensus pick when it comes to the happenings in and around the squared circles.
Unless we’re talking about the Match of the Year for 2024. Quite the swerve, right?
When we tallied the votes (see below), Will Ospreay's and Bryan Danielson’s match at AEW Dynasty was the clear-cut pick for No. 1. In fact, no other major year-end category had a wider gap between first and second place than Match of the Year, and even with our team of five writers giving votes to a dozen different matches — including one as recent as the Dec. 18 episode of "AEW Dynamite" — there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that Ospreay vs. Danielson was at worst the second-best match they watched over the past 12 months.
We’ll dive head-first into what made the April clash so special in a little bit, but first, we have to give some flowers to our honorable mention matches.
5. Sami Zayn vs. Gunther, Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 40, Night 1
As the penultimate match of Night 1, Zayn and Gunther put on an absolute clinic and meshed remarkably well considering the differing styles between the two.
More than anything, what stands out most about this match is the legitimately stunning result. Gunther was in the midst of a record-setting Intercontinental Championship reign, but for the second year in a row, Zayn scored a title win and sent fans into a frenzy.
From a pure wrestling standpoint, this was probably the best match on either night of WrestleMania 40.
4. Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson, AEW World Championship match at All In London
Banger.
It’s hard to really expound on this match beyond that one-word review because it’s almost impossible to capture the electricity of the Wembley Stadium crowd from start to finish here. If we’re going for a “near-fall” or “in-match pop” of the year, Danielson kicking out of Big Pressure in the latter stages of the contest would be a big favorite to win.
Even with the “Career vs. Title” stipulation taking away a smidge of intrigue, this delivered on all levels.
3. CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre: Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood
When there’s nowhere else to go in a WWE rivalry, you go to Hell in a Cell. Punk vs. McIntyre was our Feud of the Year, due in large part to the brutal match they put on in October at Bad Blood.
Arguably the greatest Hell in a Cell match ever, Punk and McIntyre opened the show, went for more than 31 minutes, and — on a night where Cody Rhodes teamed with Roman Reigns and we got a cameo from The Rock — was all anyone was talking about the next day.
2. Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, WWE Undisputed Championship/Bloodline Rules match at WrestleMania 40, Night 2
Arguably the greatest main event in WWE history, Rhodes and Reigns capped off a story that was more than a year in the making.
Was this the technical masterpiece of Ospreay-Danielson? No. Did this have the level of violence of Punk-McIntyre? No. Did this have run-ins from Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa, John Cena, The Rock and The Undertaker? Yes, and each one was a “holy you-know-what” moment that sent the crowd into a bigger and bigger frenzy.
WrestleMania is billed as the “Showcase of the Immortals.” This match delivered and helped Rhodes and Reigns earn a place among them.
1. Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay, singles match, AEW Dynasty
Unlike every other match mentioned above, this contest had no championship on the line and no stipulation. It was just two of the best wrestlers on the planet going toe-to-toe for more than a half-hour on a Sunday night in April and creating an absolute masterpiece.
Danielson and Ospreay — despite their level of expertise and talent — are two very different wrestlers. Danielson is an unparalleled technical wizard, with a level of intensity often unmatched in the ring, whereas Ospreay is quick, punishing and graceful, bringing a high-flying, counter-wrestling style that meshed so perfectly well with his opponent in this match. In fact, the contrasting styles was one of the major underlying stories told during this classic encounter. Danielson never quite matched Ospreay’s high-risk moves, and Ospreay did not try to steal anything from the American Dragon’s submission playbook, but other than that they mirrored one another from the opening bell to the closing bell.
Considering this was the first time these two have ever faced each other in singles competition, the timing and chemistry was truly remarkable. There’s one sequence in particular, later on in the match, where Ospreay goes for an Oscutter only to be met with a flying Busaiko Knee from Danielson. So much could have gone wrong — especially that late in the match — that the fact that they even attempted it, let alone flawlessly executed it was jaw-dropping. It’s a moment at the very least on par with Logan Paul and Ricochet’s mid-air crossbody collision, Adam Cole’s superkick to Ricochet or Randy Orton’s WrestleMania 31 RKO to Seth Rollins.
Ring psychology played a major role in this match as well. Danielson and Ospreay each targeted specific limbs/weaknesses of the other. Danielson did his best to neutralize the right arm of Ospreay, preventing him from being able to effectively deliver his Hidden Blade finisher while Ospreay looked to gain an advantage by attacking Danielson’s neck. This ultimately came into play in the finish as Ospreay won in part due to a Tiger Driver ‘91, which led to doctors and Ospreay himself checking on Danielson’s condition. Ospreay ditched the move in kayfabe after seeing the damage it did at Dynasty.
A lot of times, especially when you consider matches that may not have a premium slot (opening or closing the show) and don't have a championship on the line, the crowd can take a little while to get into the swing of things. That was not the case here. For almost 33 minutes, there was a buzz among the St. Louis audience that really helped add to the atmosphere of the match. It never quite matched the level of other matches on this list (Danielson-Strickland or Rhodes-Reigns), but those were stadium show main events for their promotions’ biggest prizes. We still want these two to "fight for-ev-er."
It’s hard to talk about this match without talking about the aftermath — particularly Danielson’s health. In an interview with Uncrowned before his full-time retirement match last October, Danielson discussed getting hurt “really badly” in the Ospreay match, so much so that it impacted his ability to sleep in the weeks and months that followed. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment where Danielson gets hurt, but he does suffer an ugly fall going for an avalanche hurricanrana on Ospreay about midway through the match, and the Tiger Driver ‘91 was sold as the major culprit. Obviously there was never any ill-intent, but it’s impossible not to look back with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.
More than anything, however, this match felt like a changing of the guard for professional wrestling. Danielson had reached the highest of highs in WWE and became AEW’s top champion later on in 2024, but him putting Ospreay over signaled that the British superstar could lay claim to being the best bell-to-bell wrestler in the world. It remains Ospreay’s biggest win as an AEW wrestler and somehow exceeded the expectations of anyone with a pair of eyeballs. This dream match was the kind of thing you show people when you want to get them hooked on professional wrestling, just like the rest of us are.
Here is how the Uncrowned wrestling team voted for 2024 Match of the Year.
Honorable mentions:
Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page (All Out)
Mercedes Moné vs. Kris Statlander (Full Gear)
Ospreay vs. Pac (All Out)
Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale (All Out)
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ospreay vs. Ricochet (WrestleDream)
Moné vs. Stephanie Vaquer (Forbidden Door)
Ospreay vs. Darby Allin (AEW Dynamite 12/18)
